Special Equipment

A deep-fry thermometer

Recipe Preparation

Pulse chickpeas in a food processor, scraping down sides as needed, until they resemble finely chopped nuts (the texture should be uneven, with some slightly larger pieces visible), about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl.

Pulse onion, jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, and parsley in food processor, scraping down sides as needed, until coarsely chopped, about 1 minute. Mix into chickpeas, then mix in chickpea flour, salt, baking powder, cardamom, and cumin. Form into ping-pong–size balls.

Pour oil into a large heavy pot to a depth of 3". Fit pot with thermometer and heat oil over medium-high until thermometer registers 330°. Working in batches, cook falafel, turning occasionally, until deep brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels; let sit 5 minutes. Serve falafel with salad, tahini sauce, and pita.

Related Video

Molly Makes Fresh Herb Falafel

Reviews

I did a subpar job mincing up the chickpeas, so it was a little bit too nutty, but even so, absolutely delicious. The falafels held together great, fried nicely, and tasted great.

PtyeUK01/22/19

This is so good! But a definite warning on the amount of salt. Luckily, I saw another review about it being too salty before I had finished... It was too salty before I had finished with salt like the video showed, and I left all salt out of the sauce... But alas, it was still too salty! Tone is down!

Tyler KnochelLafayette, IN06/03/18

I had such high hopes and was looking forward to making this all week, but honestly, the salt kills it. It was way too salty it was unedible. I should have just added salt as I was going, but 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt in the falafel is overkill. To make matters worse, as per the recipe 2 teaspoons and more in one cup of tahini made the sauce way too salty. I honestly couldn't eat a bite of it.

ccolantocanada05/26/18

First time making falafel from scratch. I used dried hulled split fava beans in place of the chickpeas, then had to add more chickpea flour to get the right molding consistency.
I don't deep fry, so I made patties and pan fried them in olive oil. Husband and kid both devoured them - some of the best falafel I've ever eaten (and yes, I've eaten at L'As du Fallafel in Paris :).

AnonymousGermany05/24/18

This is delicious! I made it for the second time last night. It's very nicely seasoned and the balls fried up beautifully. In terms of recipe notes, I think 1 minute is way too long to process the onion/herb ingredients. 10 seconds is probably more like it. I then drained off the liquid from the onions. I also found the raw falafel mix was a little challenged to hang together, so I added additional chick pea flour at several points in the assembly process, and it seemed to work fine. I also formed balls a bit smaller than golf balls. I was a little worried that would dry them out with frying, but they turned out great. For an easy but wholesome serving suggestion I served the falafel in a pita with a bag of prechopped broccoli slaw and diced bread and butter pickles. A yummy crowd pleaser!